History of third Jyotirlinga mahakaleshwar Mahadev

 

• the series of 12 Jyotirlingams, where in we shall tell you about the importance of every Jyotirlingam and the folk tales related to the same. we shall talk about the third Jyotirlingam, which is famous throughout India for various reasons. This is not only famous for the unique aarti, but also is home to both a Jyotirlingam as well as a Mahashaktipeeth like Sri Mallikarjuna Devasthanam. 
• Yes, we are talking about the famous Jyotirlingam situated in the Mahakaleshwar Mandir complex in Madhya Pradesh, which situated in the Ujjain city, situated on the banks of Shipra River.
•  The temple is situated near the Rudrasagar Lake, and is extremely famous for the Bhasma Aarti This temple has been mentioned in our holy Puranas, epics like Mahabharata and the eponymous works of Kalidasa. 
• Mahakavi Kalidasa had mentioned about Mahakaleshwar Dham with great pride while describing the city of Ujjayini [Ujjain’s old name] in his extremely famous play, ‘Meghduta’. 
• The Jyotirlingam of Mahakaleshwar is quite unique in comparison to other Jyotirlingams, because not only the Jyotirlingam is grand, but also it is Dakshinmukhi [south facing]. 
• Apart from that, the Jyotirlingam is also Swayambhu, i.e. the Jyotirlingam derives Shakti [power] from within itself, whereas be it a Jyotirlingam or any other Murti, they derive the Shakti only after proper rituals and the conduction of the establishment [Pran Pratishtham] ceremony. 
• It is said that just worshipping this Jyotirlingam would give Moksha to the devotee. How was Mahakaleshwar established? There is an interesting anecdote in the Shiv Purana about the same. According to the chapter dedicated to the Mahakaleshwar Dham in the Shiv Purana initially known as Avantika. 
• Avantika wasn’t only famous for its beauty, but was also equally popular as an epicenter for the study of the Holy Scriptures. This was amongst the few cities of ancient India where students used to come and study the Holy Scriptures. According to the same chapter, an indomitable user Chandrasena used to rule over Avantika / Ujjayini. He was a true devotee of Shri Shiva and used to worship him daily as well. 
• One day a farmer’s son, Shikhar was roaming on the palace grounds, when he heard the chants of Mahadev from King Chandrasena from the nearby Mahakaleshwar Dham.
•  An eager Shikhar ran towards the temple, where he wished to chant the name of Mahadev with the king. However, the royal guards removed him forcefully and left him on the outskirts of the city, situated on the banks of Shipra River. The enemies of the Ujjain kingdom, Ripudaman and Singhaditya had decided to invade the kingdom and rob the kingdom of its exchequer. 
• They were supported by the invisible demon Dushan, who was blessed by Brahma to be invisible. Along with Dushan, Ripudaman and Singhaditya successfully invaded and plundered the city of Ujjayini. However, not content with the same, their forces now attacked the devotees praying in the Mahakaleshwar Dham. 
• When Shikhar came to know about this, he began invoking Shri Shiva. Hearing his prayers, a priest named Vridhi [who was just passing by] stopped in his tracks and began invoking Shri Shiva, supporting the dedication of Shikhar. Never the one to ignore the pleas of his devotees, Mahadev took the form of Mahakaal and within moments, Dushan and the other enemies of King Chandrasena were reduced to smithereens. 
• On the continuous requests of Vridhi and Shikhar, Mahadev assumed the form of a Jyotirlingam and established himself there. Not only that, Mahadev also blessed his devotees that by worshipping Mahakaal, the devotees shall be relieved of all their pains and sufferings, On a realistic note, it is still disputed as to when Mahakaleshwar Dham was officially established, just like Somnath Mandir. 
• However, all the historians and scholars are unanimous in their opinion that the famous ruler of the Parmar dynasty, Raja Bhoja was instrumental in the expansion of the Mahakaleshwar Dham. Like Somnath Mandir, Ujjain’s Mahakaleshwar Dham was also ransacked multiple times, among which the invasion of Sultan Iltutmish in 1234-5 harmed the temple the most. 
• A small reservoir is connected within the temple premises, which is known as Kotiteerth. It is said that when Iltutmish ransacked the Mahakaleshwar Dham, he had the Jyotirlingam thrown in this very Kotiteerth. 

• However, under the leadership of Peshwa Bajirao Ballal, the Marathas liberated the Malwa province in 1728, and soon enough the restoration of Mahakaleshwar Dham officially begun. Bajirao’s trusted aide Ranoji Shinde aka Ranoji Rao Scindia had an important role to play in the reconstruction of Mahakaleshwar Dham. 
• Mahakaleshwar Dham. The modern day Mahakaleshwar complex was however constructed by Ranoji’s successor, Mahadji Shinde, who was also Peshwa Madhavrao’s able commander. This has been confirmed by Pandit Neelesh Ishwarchandra Karkare in his book ‘Srinath Madhavji’. Like Somnath Mandir, Mahakaleshwar Dham is also the symbol of Hindu resistance. 
• However, apart from that, Mahakaleshwar Dham is also a unique place like the Mallikarjuna Devasthanam. It is said that when Shri Shiva was roaming around the world aimlessly with the corpse of Sati, in order to bring him out of that state, Prabhu Vishnu cut the corpse of Sati into 52 pieces with his Sudarshan Chakra. 
• Wherever the pieces fell, a Shakti Peeth was established, of which 18 places were identified as the Maha Shaktipeeth. .  It is said that the Maha Shaktipeeth of Maa Harsiddhi, situated near the Mahakaleshwar dham, is a representative of Sati’s tongue, which had fallen here. 
• This is why it is classified as a Maha Shaktipeeth. This is the tale of the Jyotirlingam of Mahakaleshwar; this is the tale of the immense devotion of the Bhakts toward their beloved Mahadev.